Elysium
by Selphy Wish
Summary: "Every beloved object is the center point of a paradise." In this case, one person was the center of his own paradise. Elliot x OC AU


Elyse Novalis, wide-eyed and looking not a day over nine years old, scanned the page quickly. It wa eleven at night, and a child should be sleeping, no?

She was reading about the past, a couple centuries ago. Even for someone who read books well above her age's level such as herself, it was hard to understand. But it was in a... different way. It was a report that her older brother had written for his special class. The second paragraph was pretty much only a synopsis.

_The Four Great Dukedoms sought the Will of the Abyss for many years. They stopped illegal contractors and they contracted safely with their own chains. I read all of this in someone's diary. They said they'd secured the Will of the Abyss, but there is no trace of what happens after that. Now Novalis, an ancient family, has joined Pandora in it's quest for the truth. The Will of the Abyss was obtained, but what happened to her after that is a mystery. All Chains disappeared. That's what we were told. Everyone after the event earlier either died before they could tell anyone, or forgot everything about what happened. It was like a pandemic._

She rolled her eyes, and gave up after the second paragraph. Her brother was so stupid! He left out all the good parts about the people actually involved. Her family, Novalis, hadn't been involved with Pandora before a few decades after the event, but they were invited to increase funds and people. Why were they even doing this, though? Curiosity wasn't a valid reason.

* * *

The now grown Elyse darted through the hallways of Lutwidge.

It was three forty-five in the afternoon, and she had to walk home now in the snow. She was slightly more tired and fatigued than normal, but it'd be fine. Even though she had no coat, and it was very, very cold outside.

Elyse always had to go home as quick as possible, but not today; if her parents knew she was walking home, they'd probably force her to become a 'better' driver. The only reason why she got her license was because she drove as careful as she could; after that, she drove as fast and reckless as she could But what was the fun of driving if you didn't go quick? Sure, she had gotten a couple tickets then, and a slightly damaged car. Actually, no. That's not the point.

Elyse struggled to stand as she exited the school and headed for the sidewalk. It was so cold, but at the same time so hot—at least the gentle snow (well, gentle at least for now) was calming her. Inside her bag, her phone vibrated, it was a text from her older brother. _Elle, I'm not coming home tonight. I've got business in Italy, and Mother and Father have left on business for Pandora. Did they tell you? Sorry for leaving you alone again, but you could just spend the rest of_ the_ day with everyone else._

This was... the second time in the past couple months, and both times she was left completely alone for two weeks at the very least. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. They were caring and loving family, sure, but they never took their youngest child's feelings into account.

She couldn't believe this. Moving to sit on a bench near Lutwidge, she frowned, playing with her dark brown hair. Five minutes passed, as Elle watched kids leave the building, and she waved goodbye to Oz, Alice and Sharon, who seemed to be in a rush. Probably to meet up with Gilbert and Break. A few minutes after most of the school cleared out, Elyse tried to stand, but found it was easier to sit.

Several minutes passed before she fell asleep on the bench. Ah, she really shouldn't have gone to school today. This morning, she'd only had a small fever.

* * *

Elliot could not believe his eyes. He'd been walking out to his car after helping a teacher, and here Elyse Novalis was asleep on a bench outside of Lutwidge while it was snowing, and several degrees below freezing. Just when he thought that the young scion of the Novalis family couldn't get anymore stupid, she went and suprised him again. And she, unlike other sensible students, only wore the uniform and failed to bring a warm coat.

"Leo! What are we supposed to do?" He was louder than need be over the phone.

"You mean what are you supposed to do, right? I have to go to Pandora. Bring her home. You know where the Novalis house is."

Elliot glared at the girl—who looked much more fragile and harmless sleeping. Leo already knew what Elliot would do, but it was still fun to tease him.

"She'll get sick! And you'll be in trouble. Or, a stalker could kidnap her, or someone could kidnap Miss Elyse for ransom. She's a prime target, pretty and wealthy. Who knows what could happen to Miss Elyse? Either way, it'll be on you."

"Shut up, you were here too!"

"But what are you going to do, leave her there? I have to go looking for more documents."

Elliot groaned and waited about ten minutes before deciding. (Why did it take him so long anyway, when he knew he wasn't going to let her stay here alone?)

Begrudgingly, he gathered her up in his arms. Crap, if Sharon Rainsworth were here, she'd be like a maniac about how romantic it was... with the princess carry, the snow... Wait, wait, why the hell was _he_ thinking about this?

The girl he was carrying, however, wasn't a princess in the least, in his eyes. Elyse, a few seconds after Elliot began to carry her off to his car, began to stir and tried to sit up in his arms. She was up for only two seconds maybe. "Hey, Elliot, what are you doing?" She fell back into his arms; not enough strength to stay up.

"I'm taking you to your mansion." he said softly.

Elliot put a hand to her forehead. She was burning up.

It was quite difficult, to open the car door with someone in his arms, so he set her down on her feet for a few minutes while fumbling in his pockets for his keys. She was too tired to even stand by herself, so she leaned against his chest for support. Cue Elliot's face turning bright red.

"Elliot... why is it so cold? My head feels so heavy..."

"Can't you tell you're sick?" He scoffed and opened the door, lifting her off the ground and setting her on the left seat. "You fell asleep in the snow."

Quickly pulling the seatbelt over her, he didn't even try to hide his annoyance as he went to the driver's seat on the other side.

She was only wearing a blouse, vest and blazer, all thin, a short mid-thigh skirt and thigh highs... wasn't she actually supposed to be smart?

"Crap, this girl is just so annoying."

Taking off his pea coat (though he fumbled with the buttons for a while) he threw it over her as he started the car and put on his seat belt.

And then his phone started to vibrate. As soon as he picked it up, the young Nightray regretted it immediately. "Hey Elliot~!" Oz Vessalius' voice rang over the speaker. He'd finally acknowledged the young Vessalius as a friend only a few weeks ago, but the kid was still a sparring partner. "So, I heard from Gilbert and Alice who heard from Sharon and Break who heard from Leo that—"

"Okay, whatever he told everyone is a lie!"

"...You do know that makes us more suspicious, right? Leo's right, you should use what little brain you have to think of what you want to say before you do. So, how's Elyse doing?"

Little brain? He was smarter than most of the people he knew!

"Shut up!"

"Idiot, this guy is such an idiot..." Alice's voice came.

"Whatever. So how is she? You wouldn't want her to freeze to death, right?" Oz and Gilbert's voices came at the same time. Great, so the stupid girl and his brother were listening in too? And knowing them, Sharon and Break were probably there too.

"She has a fever. I'm taking her home now. Seriously though, who's stupid enough to not bring a coat on a day like this one?"

Elyse, who was slightly better because of the warmth in the car, opened her tourmaline pink eyes. "Hey! I did bring a coat! I just... don't remember what happened to it."

"Tch. See how moronic this delusional schizophrenic is? Anyway, bye. I've already wasted five minutes on this conversation."

Before they could answer, he hung up.

"Hey, who's coat is this?" Elyse struggled to speak in full sentences, though a glance towards Elliot already told her. ""Do you have medicine?"

"Why would I? Oh. Wait. I have some pain relieving pills that I use for headaches. They work for fevers." a bottle of pills came her way, while Elyse pulled a bottle of water from her bag. "Oh, yeah. Thanks. You saved me of walking home."

"Wait, you can't drive?"

"I've got a license, but my parents think I drive like a madwoman."

"Hired driver?"

"Don't need it."

"So you walk a mile... everyday even though you can easily hire someone? How stupid can you be?"

"Why would I hire someone? My parents think I have a friend drive me home, but I prefer to walk."

"Because—!" Elliot gave up. This conversation kept going back and forth. Logic just didn't seem to work with Elyse.

"We'll be there soon, I guess."

Awkward silence for the rest of the ride, while Elle shifted nervously. Fifteen minutes later, Elliot, when he thought she wasn't looking, glanced furtively at Elyse. She was looking much better than she was when he found her, but still seemed worn.

They passed through the scenery quickly, while Elliot payed attention to finding her home. As soon as the large mansion (with a garden full of amaryllis lilies and white irises, courtesy of Elyse), he got out of the car, and pulled Elyse out, half-dragging her, half-carrying her to the door.

Right before he knocked, Elyse pulled out a key. "No one's home. I'd rather not talk to any of the servants right now, they'll smother me."

Letting herself in, she turned, and normally bright pink eyes were dull. "Don't expect me to thank you, alright?"

Just as a disgruntled Nightray heir was leaving, and she stuck her head out of the half-open door. "Uh, yeah. Thanks."

Elliot tried to hold back a laugh. He'd won this one.

* * *

Hey! So, sorry if this is kind of bad... this is my first story for PH and I do hope it's decent. Maybe I shouldn't have published this when I was so tired and out of my mind, though. Expect a bunch of editing later. And characters are OOC-ish, I think. I was in sort of a rush to get this done, and I myself have a high fever.

Please leave a review! No flames allowed, but polite criticism is. Also, if there's not many reviews, I'll have to make the expected update wait longer. If there's no reviews, I might have to consider another option. Reviews make me want to write even if I'm tired, so I apologize for bitching here. Please sign in if you're going to review; I like to reply.

Things now are kind of fluffy (actually, _very_ fluffy), but things will get darker. This is just an introduction, a test chapter to the story. No flames are allowed, but if it's so horrible, you can tell me to stop right now. But back to the earlier topic, it'll get very dark and angsty. Seriously, when I was planning out some of the story, I started crying. Updates will be every couple weeks, so check back often! I have an outline of beginning, but I don't know how many chapters it'll take. But this will be a long-running story, I am absolutely sure of that. Feel free to suggest anything to me! My ideas aren't quite enough, so suggest anything! Like, romantic moments between all of the characters, fun or heartwarming moments or angst. If I can't find a good place to put it but I really like the idea, I'll use it as a bonus chapter!

Also, one thing I need to tell you. The quote in the summary comes from the philosopher Novalis, and I used his pseudonym for Elyse's last name.

Bye! Selphy will be signing off for now~!


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